Method and apparatus for handling coated reinforcing fabric.



THOMA. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING 0'6 ATED REINFORGING FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, I909. A

937,391 Patented Oct. 19,1909.

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ANDREW- THOMA, or CAMBRIDGE, essncnusnrrs, essrenon ro- THOMA CORPORA- arrow, or PORTLAND, MAINE.

METHOD AND ArrAnA'rns non HANDLING con'rnn nnrnroncrne FABRIC.

Application filed January 20, 1909. Serial No. 473,239

Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an In'iprovement in Method and Apparatus for Handling Coated Reinforcing Fabric, of

which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

-My invention relates to'that general sub} ject andtype of invention 'setforth inU. S. Letters Patent No. 812,383, its objectvbeing,

howeve r-,-to eliminate the objectionable. features of my previous invention and introduce certainother advantages, as willbe more fully'set forth in the course of the following description, considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated one, form of mechanism for carrying out the invention.

In the accompanying drawings,F1gure 1 represents inside elevation the upper part of the mechanism, and Fig. 2 represents in end elevation the lower part of the. mechanismfor carrying out my invention.

My invention relates particularly to the reinforcing 'of leather inner. soles for the production of the kind of inner "soles commonly known in the market as Gem inner soles, ,1

According to my previous method, :the

duck or reinforcing fabric was first, coated with a solution or solutions of such a nature that the coated fabric became normally non-sticky,so that it could be rolled onitself without danger of the layers sticking together, the coating of said fabric, however,

being capable of be'comingsticky upon the application thereto of moisture and then dry heat, the moisture's'erving to soften the fabric and coating, and the dry heat serving, to dry out the'moisture fromthe coating so as to leave the latter simply sticky; This coated fabric has proved difiicult and ex ensive to produce, particularly in view 0 the fact thatin order to coat the material without developing the excessive stickiness dur-' ing the coating thereof the coating material hadto be applied in exceedingly thinlayers, therefore necessitating a considerable number of layers in order to get the required thickness of coating; The softening or dis- Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

T a solving process of the gutta percha used often leads to overheatin and, especially in hot weather, it is very difficult to control the tendency of the individual coatings to peel or stick to the adjacent layer of fabric as the latter is being wound, thereby still further necessitating the application of the coating in very thin slight layers.

According to my present invention I am enabled to apply a heavy coating directly, even in a single coating if desired, and am able to have said coating exceedingly sticky as distinguished from normallynon-sticky. My invention enables me also to emplby the cheaper grades of guttapercha, which I find are most desirable, so far as the element of stickiness is concerned, said cheaper grades being naturally supplied. with the desired'resinous matter which is essential or forth in' my pending applications Serial No. 407,558 and Serial No. 465,907, taking care, however, to omit all oily or fatty matter, which-tends to neutralize or injure the sticky qualities of the coating, it being understood that one of the main objects of my present invention is to make it possible to em loy an excessively sticky coating on the 'fa ric which 1s to be packaged as an article of manufacture and shipped to shoe factories to be used as-required. I have failed to find any commercially satisfactory cementitious' coating not containing gutta percha', and accordingly I wish it understood that I preferably employ a gutta 'percha coating reinforced with resinous strong-sticking'ingredients, so that the coatmg is normally sticky and tacky, as distinguished from normally non-sticky, said coating-being such that it is instantly responsive to a-moderate heat, so that, for ex? ample, when passed through hot water it becomes sufficiently soft to apply directly and instantly to the innersole, and will set as quickly upon cooling or being exposed to the all,

I do not herein claim the cement, as that is duly claimed in my before mentioned epplications. The features whichrender it possible and commercially practicable to use such cement as a coating of reinforcing fabric as an article ofmanufacture to be shipped in roll-form with impunity, and which constitute this part of my present invention, reside in applying the hot sticky cementitious coating thickly over one s1de of a strip of fabric, and then while it is still warm and sensitive applying to said coated side of the fabric another length of the same fabric but uncoated. In other words, I take two similar lengths of the reinforcing fabric, and as one length is being thickly coated with the hot sticky coatin material the other length is being applie two lengths are wound up on each other with the coating between them, the uncoated length of fabric being promptly and efliciently stuck to the coated side of the coated length of fabric as the latter is being formed into a roll. One coating therefore supplies enough adhesive substance for two lengths of fabric. The roll of double canvas pr fabric is then stripped into narrow widths as required for the usual comparatively narrow innersoles, and is ready for the market. It will be evident that the cementitious coating is thoroughly protected so that it cannot get dirty and cannot deteriorate appreciably, because the canvas or duck on both sides of the coating excludes not only dust, lint, etc., but practically excludes the air, and hence prevents the cement from oxidizing. Arrived at the factory, the roll 1 is placed on a support as indicated at 2 at one end of a tank 3 filled with water maintained hot by a steam coil 4: or any other suitable means, the free end of the fabric being led beneath a deflecting device herein shown as a wheel or roller 5 journaled on the laterally bent end or arm 6 of a lever 7 pivoted at 8 and held down by any suitable means as a thumb screw, latch, or other holdin means 9. As the fabric passes through the oiling water in'the tank 3 it is sufiiciently soaked with or permeated by the boiling water to soften the coating between the two layers of fabric. This simply softens the'sensitive coating but does not wet. it, as the coating is efliciently protected from the hot water by the two layers of fabric and hence is simply softened sufiiciently for easy separation of the two strips. The boiling water also tempers the fabric as well as the coating by rendering them both pliable, the former being wet and limp and the latter becoming dry-sticky, c. sticky without the presence of extraneous moisture.

, This process secures an even heating to both strips, and obviates thedanger of overheating (which was an ever-present and serious danger in my previous invention). The boiling water, although softening the thereto, and in this condition the coating, does not leave amoist film over said boating as was the case according to my previous invention, which necessitated an extra subsequent heating to overcome said moisture.

My present invention not only secures proper softening with a minimum heat, but secures uniformity of wetting as well as of heating, and also obviates the danger of the fabrics absorbing the coating as was liable to be the case from the subsequent heating necessary according to my previous invention after the immersion.- I regard the simultaneous heating and moistening of my present invention as an important feature, impossible according to my previous invention. Heating the coated fabric subseqnently to its previous immersion resulted in changing the conditions eitherof the fabric or its coated layer, or both, whereas by my present method there is no. possibility of this defect. Hav-' ing thus rendered thefabric pliable and softened theintervening coating, the fabric is led upward as indicated at 10 between two similar plates 11, 12 secured to a table 13, said plates being herein shown as triangular in shape. The two layers of the fabric are then separated, one layer-14 being bent over the oblique edge of the plate 11 and pulled forward over the near side thereof, while the opposite layer or strip of fabric 15 is bent in an opposite direction over the oblique edge of the plate 12 and pulled forward over the far side of said plate, the two strips '14, 15 of fabric being pulled forward together with their coated sides upward along the table 13 in position to have the innersoles pressed down upon them in usual manner.

The operator then cuts oil the requisite lengths of canvas which has been thus stuck to the leather of the innersoles, and the latter are then passedforward to the gemming heat to said united strips, and then so arating the strips in condition to receive t 1c innersoles.

2'. The herein described method, consisting of providing a coated fabric whose coating is capable of becoming quickly softand extremely sticky in the presence of heat, si multaneously wetting the fabric on its un coated side and heating, without wetting,

same;

fabric by means of a cementitious coating capable of being rendered quickly soft and sticky by moist heat, immersing said united strips in hot water so that the uncoated exposed sides of the strips are wetted and the intermediate coating is simply heated, and then separatingthe two strips from each other; I q

at. The herein described-'method, consisting of uniting two strips of reinforcing fabric by means of a cementitious coating capable of being rendered quickly soft and sticky by moist heat, immersing said united strips in hot water, removing the wet strips from the water, and while thecoating is still hot pulling said strips apart, and then applying the innersole under pressure to the sticky softened coated side of the separated stri 5. The herein described article of'manufacture, consisting of two strips of reinforcing fabric joined face to face by a normally sticky intermediate coating-highly resp'onsive to moist heat and of a thickness and consistency capable of affording an ample coating for each strip when'sai strips and coating, are softened by said moist-heat and thestrips pulled apart.

' 6. The herein described machine, com rising a hot water tank, means to deliver t ereinto a web consisting of two fabric strips united by a sticky intermediate coating, and means for automatically separating said two strips each with its proportion of said coating in a sticky condition as the web is pulled forward from said tank.

7 in an apparatus of the klnd described, means to deliver a normally sticky coated fabric in a dry state, means to wet the fabric and simultaneously to heat and soften the coatin without leaving on said coating a film of moisture, and means to deliver said fabric with its'coated, sticky side in position to receive an innersole.

8. The herein described machine, comprising a hot water tank, means to deliver thereinto a web consisting of two fabric strips united by a sticky intermediate coating, and

means for automatically separating said two strips each with its'proportion of said coating in a sticky condition as the web is pulled forward from" said tank, said separating means being constructed to permit the two strips to be pulled flatwise in the same direction.

9. The herein described machine, comprisa hot water tank, means to deliver thereinto a web consisting of two fabric strips united by a sticky intermediate coating, and means for automatically'separatin said two strips each with its proportion 0 said coating in a sticky condition as the web is pulled forward from said tank, said se 'iarating means being constructed to permit the two strips to be ulled fiatwise in'one and the same plane 1n the same direction.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name-to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' ANDREW THOMA. Witnesses:

M. J, SPALnIN-e, EDWARD MAXWELL. 

